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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 MA5

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(2017 MA5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.184 AU
True anomaly
189.91°
Distance from Earth
2.138 AU
As of
24 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 MA5 — 1.184 AU from the Sun 2017 MA5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 MA5 is 2.138 AU from Earth today (17.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 40m 23s
Declination
-17° 43′ 33″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
2.14 AU
Elongation from the Sun
11.99° — too close to the Sun to observe

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.966 AU
Eccentricity
0.2311
Inclination
5.91°
Orbital period
346.7 days
Perihelion
0.743 AU
Aphelion
1.189 AU
Longitude of ascending node
271.21°
Argument of periapsis
131.83°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.3 LD
0.0265 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.221

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
29
Data arc
9 days
First observed
25 June 2017
Last observed
4 July 2017
Residual RMS
0.59 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 75 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 MA5 at 2032-03-07 16:53 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-03-07 16:53 UTC close approach of 2017 MA5. Catalogue miss distance 169.5 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-03-04 to 2032-03-10, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 169.5 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km 2032-03-07 16:53 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-03-07 16:53 UTC close approach of 2017 MA5. Catalogue miss distance 169.5 LD · 6.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-03-04 to 2032-03-10, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-03-07 16:53:00 Earth 0.4356 AU 169.5 LD 19.8 km/s
2033-02-20 17:48:00 Earth 0.1424 AU 55.4 LD 10.3 km/s
2034-10-31 04:18:00 Earth 0.2596 AU 101.0 LD 8.6 km/s
2034-11-20 13:52:00 Venus 0.0669 AU 26.0 LD 8.5 km/s
2036-07-04 19:45:00 Earth 0.1183 AU 46.1 LD 10.3 km/s
2037-06-23 10:45:00 Earth 0.4166 AU 162.1 LD 19.2 km/s
2045-05-03 11:30:00 Venus 0.0547 AU 21.3 LD 6.6 km/s
2051-03-06 16:48:00 Earth 0.3967 AU 154.4 LD 18.5 km/s
2052-02-19 12:43:00 Earth 0.1139 AU 44.3 LD 9.1 km/s
2055-07-04 13:06:00 Earth 0.1519 AU 59.1 LD 11.3 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources